To Table of Contents
Photo Credit : Isai Reiziger
Apparently this isn ’ t uncommon for the average Curaçao native , who primarily speaks Dutch and Papiamento ( Dutch-based Creole spoken in the Dutch islands ). The presence of tourism makes English important from an early age and immigration from nearby countries introduces Spanish , French and Portuguese . Enter the “ cultural patchwork ” reference from before !
Back to the tour : we visited several historical and cultural sites like
The Genuine Curaçao Liqueur Factory , where a walk through the history and production process of this 121- year old spirit ended with a sampling of its different flavours .
We cooled off at a quick beach stop and for lunch delighted in ( depending on how you look at it ; later on , it wasn ’ t so delightful for me !) the sampling of some iguana meat . And yes , it tasted like chicken !
Day 2 : Beach Day / Dancing at Night Day 1 as a full time island-trotter means you deserve a break ! You can ’ t come to Curaçao without having a beach day , so here it is , with a twist : today , it ’ s
Mambo Beach , with the usual pearly-white sand , gentle blue waters , and ….. topless bathers ? Yes , that ’ s right . I remember passing a lady reclining in a beach chair casually flipping through a magazine while the sun bronzed her bare breasts . My first thought was “ she must be European ”, remembering their notoriously laid-back attitudes about beach attire . What for ( the North American ) me would be a very anxious undertaking was totally normal for her !
Refresh yourself with a quick dip and then it ’ s back to the club on Mambo Beach for a night of Latin dancing . On my night there , high energy filled the open-air space with swivelling bodies , flowing drinks , and salsa rhythms that grabbed even non-dancers out of their seats . My fellow pilots and I revelled in the colourful blur of spinning dresses fanned by pleasant night breezes , silently wishing we could join in the action .